The Han emperor, obsessed with beauty, sought a kingdom-toppling grace, For years he ruled and searched, but found no one to take her place.
Born with natural beauty hard to hide, She was chosen to serve by the sovereign's side. One backward glance, a smile of hundred charms - All other palace ladies lost their charms.
In spring's chill, she bathed in Huaqing Pool, Where warm, smooth waters washed her creamy skin. Supported by maids, her delicate limbs arose, When first she gained his favor and his love.
Cloud-like hair, flower-like face, with golden pendants swaying, In lotus-scented warmth they spent the springtime night. The spring night seemed too short, the sun rose high too soon - From that day forth, the king no longer held court at dawn.
—— Bai Juyi, Song of Everlasting Regret
"If I assume a perfect woman scores one hundred points, her hair should account for fifteen points, because generally speaking, a woman's temperament is closely tied to her hair！ For example, Hepburn's signature is her bangs cut straight across the eyebrows like a young girl's, neat and even, making her look like an unmarried maiden - I'd give her a full fifteen points. Murong Xuehen's soft, glossy shoulder-length hair perfectly complements the gentle, delicate grace of a Southern belle. Generally speaking, men have a thing for long hair; short hair looks sharp and lively. Thirteen points wouldn't be a problem."
Ye Wudao continued： "I really don't understand those women who dye their hair - they have no idea what natural beauty means. Even though Christian icons depict Eve and the Virgin Mary with blonde hair, I still have no fondness for women who deliberately dye their hair blond."
Yang Ningsu instinctively touched her own hair, seeming somewhat unsatisfied, her brow slightly furrowed. In truth, to cultivate the polished image of a host, she had to deliberately cut her hard-grown long hair, which had reached below her shoulders.
"A woman's face accounts for twenty points, because an angelic face is absolutely God's greatest gift to women and to men alike, since 'beauty is a feast' usually refers to a pretty woman's face. Moreover, having a beautiful woman gaze at you with those sparkling, affectionate eyes is always something worth going crazy over."
"Water！" Ye Wudao arrogantely ordered Yang Ningsu to bring water, saying： "One more thing, the most important part of a woman's face is her eyes. That's why Blake said in 'The Two Wealths' that a woman's wealth is a joyful heart and a pair of affectionate eyes."
Obediently handing water to Ye Wudao, whose eyes flickered with an unknown darkness, Yang Ningsu shyly said like a little girl： "Then how many points can I get？ It's not even ten, right？"
"You have a classic melon-seed face, delicate and tender skin, plus big lively eyes..." Ye Wudao deliberately paused. Yang Ningsu, full of expectation, whose heart was secretly rejoicing like she had stolen candy, was suddenly suspended in suspense. She immediately asked nervously： "What is it? Is there something wrong?"
Seeing his aunt lose her usual calm and plain demeanor, Ye Wudao hinted with hidden meaning： "Just that you smile too little. When you're not at home, I watch the show you host, and you almost never smile. Otherwise, it would really be one smile that topples a kingdom."
Yang Ningsu clearly breathed a sigh of relief, and said with infinite charm and a coquettish laugh： "Facing nearly a hundred million viewers, how do you expect me to smile? Even if I could, it wouldn't be too obvious！ Do you think your aunt is a lovesick fool? Don't I always smile for you at home?" As she said this, she unceremoniously pinched Ye Wudao's face.
Ye Wudao touched his pinched face, thinking to himself: Do all beauties have a tendency to abuse people? When he was disobedient, his mom always pinched his ears. This aunt has been pinching his face for years. Murong Xuehen habitually pinches his waist, while Wu Nuanyue just learned to pinch his thigh. It seems he really will be 'black and blue all over' in the future.
Now in a great mood, Yang Ningsu lay flat on the bed, showing no guard against this pervert Ye Wudao. Does a woman's guard drop when she's happy？ Ye Wudao decided he would definitely study this carefully later.
Yang Ningsu thought about how those dirty men would stare at her with disgusting expressions, as if they wanted to swallow her whole, and said, "Men must really care about a woman's figure, right？"
"Of course, figure also takes up 20 points. Many men argue over whether a woman's face or body is more important. The one thing I'm sure of is, once a woman has a killer body, men don't care so much about her face. After all, what normal man could resist the temptation of Marilyn Monroe in the 1955 movie 'The Seven Year Itch,' standing at the subway grate with her skirt blown up by the wind？"
Yang Ningsu lay on the bed and struck a seductive pose, laughing, "Then what score should I get？ Not lower than that little girl Murong Xuehen, right？"
Ye Wudao was momentarily stunned like an idiot, and even more embarrassingly, nosebleed trickled down. The triumphant Yang Ningsu's eyes sparkled as she giggled—today, she had laughed as much as she usually did in a whole week.
Sighing inwardly at women's innate tendency to compare themselves, Ye Wudao wiped his nosebleed and said, sounding hurt, "Little aunt, you're the perfect blend of maturity and innocence. Of course, Xuehen can't compare to you; she's still a young girl. Your body is built entirely according to the golden ratio, like a piece of art crafted by God himself！"
Praising another woman in front of a woman is obviously asking for death, and Ye Wudao wasn't that stupid. Although he felt a bit sorry for Murong Xuehen, 'Beauty before everything else, grab what's in front of you'！ Besides, it's not like lying would get you killed, so why worry？ And saying sweet words doesn't take much effort—just moving your lips around, so why not do it？
To save effort, Yang Ningsu was now lying on the bed, and Ye Wudao could even see the snow-white cleavage. Although he couldn’t see the view inside, just imagining it was enough to make his mouth dry. The pair of sacred peaks standing proudly on her chest, though tightly wrapped in the suit, had a captivating outline that seemed palm-filling, plump and firm, tall and erect, exuding the mature, voluptuous charm and allure only a top-tier beauty possesses—wasn’t this obviously tempting a good kid?
Hearing Ye Wudao’s sweet talk, Yang Ningsu smiled charmingly and asked, “So how many points can I get？ And what else？” Ye Wudao thought for a moment and said, “Eighteen points！ Next is the skin, out of a total of ten. A woman’s skin as smooth as silk and satin always intoxicates men. Best if it’s very natural—snow-white, crystal-clear skin, not using all kinds of skincare products as a ‘protective layer.’”
Yang Ningsu sat up and once again made Ye Wudao’s face suffer, “Are you saying I don’t look good when I wear makeup？”
Ye Wudao put on a flattering smile and said, “My Susu’s lotus-white arms are crystal clear, her fragrant shoulders soft and smooth, her jade-like skin full and supple, her snow-like complexion gleaming like jade—makeup is just the icing on the cake! I give you nine points! No exaggeration, if I weren’t leaving some room for other pitiful women, I’d give a full ten points!”
“Susu my ass！ Nine points, huh？” Yang Ningsu snorted, showing she was somewhat satisfied with the answer, and temporarily spared Ye Wudao’s poor ears.
A playful smile appeared on Ye Wudao’s face, but the innocence in his eyes made it easy to believe him, as he said, “But I need to verify whether it really deserves nine points！”
Hearing this somewhat ambiguous request, Yang Ningsu hesitated for a moment, but still nodded. Ye Wudao barely contained his inner excitement as he placed his hand on Yang Ningsu's face. Her body visibly trembled, and her smooth, creamy, baby-like delicate skin made Ye Wudao reluctant to let go.
Slightly sensing the unusual feeling, Yang Ningsu sighed and thought to herself, "What's wrong with me? He's Wudao, just a child." Forcing herself not to think about messy things, she calmed her mind and smiled, "Can I get nine points?"
Ye Wudao withdrew his hand, but then picked up one of Yang Ningsu's slender hands with the other, flashing a mischievous grin. "Your hands are worth five points too. Long and fair-skinned, no ring, no nail polish—five points！ And most importantly, no engagement ring, hehehe..."
Having her hand held, Yang Ningsu felt the invasion of that strange sensation even more strongly this time, and a blush crept across her face. She suddenly realized that in her eyes, the Wudao who was still a child now had hands bigger than hers. Those hands, definitely considered slender for a guy, were perfect for playing the piano, with neatly trimmed nails. She used to trim them for this little lazybug herself, and now who did it？ It should be that girl Murong Xuehen, she thought. The thought stirred a feeling she had never known before called jealousy, but soon she denied that feeling which should never have appeared.
Ye Wudao still held Yang Ningsu's hand and said, "As for dressing up, ten points can be divided into three levels： vulgar, decent, and tasteful. Little Aunt is naturally at the tasteful level, and Wudao loves it most when Little Aunt wears suits. There's also ten points for the voice. To Wudao, Little Aunt's voice is heavenly music, a perfect score just like your dressing."
I'm afraid the whole S Province is familiar with Yang Ningsu's sweet and lively voice, and there are quite a few people captivated by it. Ye Wudao thought calling her 'husband' would definitely have an incredibly tingling sensation.
Yang Ningsu didn't pull back the hand that Ye Wudao had grabbed, deliberately ignoring how it was starting to gently stroke her, and said somewhat intoxicated, "Is that all？"
Ye Wudao looked at his stunning aunt, whose eyes were slightly closed, a smile of successful scheming flickering in his pitch-black eyes. He slowly said, "The last item is special skills. Like Aunt having a massive audience of resources and admirers is one kind, like Mom holding heavy power is another, Xuehen's talent for music is also one, and of course, things like cooking and knitting scarves count too."
Yang Ningsu said somewhat disappointed, "But I'm not good at cooking, and I can't knit scarves either. I'm so useless！"
Ye Wudao gently and naturally embraced Yang Ningsu's delicate body, his voice laced with seduction, "In Wudao's eyes, Aunt is the perfect woman！"
Yang Ningsu gently held him in her arms like she did when Ye Wudao was little, even though it felt a bit different, it still made her heart peaceful, still free of worries...
Only she didn't see that the pitch-black eyes of Ye Wudao at this moment were no longer the innocence of childhood, but filled with calculation and schemes.
Completely defenseless, she was like prey being sized up, step by step walking into the trap woven by the hunter！